Fed funds for JOINT
Josephine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) has received federal funding since the late 1980s for the sake of eradicating marijuana grown on public land -- but the county’s financial difficulties may mean the end of such efforts this year.
According to a Sept. 27, 2006 press release from Dave Daniel, former sheriff, JCSO usually hires one full-time officer to lead the Josephine Marijuana Eradication Team (JOMET) and five part-time officers to assist. Last year, funding allowed for one part-time JOMET team leader and three part-time officers.
Under the current budget scenario for fiscal 2007-08, funding for JCSO’s Narcotics Unit is nearly identical under the county’s proposed Service Level 1 and Service Level 2 figures, due to federal grant money.
County budget documents state that there is “very little change to this program under Service Level 1,” in which the county receives no federal O&C funding and the public safety level fails. Both the Service Level 1 and Service Level 2 budgets contain funding for four full-timeNarcotics Unit employees. A federal grant pays for 1.5 of the employees, according to the documents.
The ‘06 press release states that federal funding pays for helicopter flight time, surveillance camera and other equipment.
However, under the county’s Service Level 1 budget, District Attorney Stephen Campbell’s office would be able to prosecute only the most severe crimes against persons. As such, the D..A’s office may not have the resources to prosecute drug crimes or participate in JOMET, said Sheriff Gil Gilbertson.
“If we go to Level 1, my guess is they probably won’t be able to be part of JOMET this year,” Gilbertson said. “It’s going to depend on the D.A. He’ll have to be part of it. If he can’t, we’re really spinning our wheels and won’t be able to do anything.”
He said that he plans to address the issue with Campbell sometime this week.
County budget documents state that if JCSO pulls out of the JOMET program, “future grant monies will go to other counties and future revenue from forfeitures will stop.” Gilbertson said that those funds initially would revert to the federal government before redistribution.
“We would have to give it back to them, or they wouldn’t give it to us in the beginning,” he said.
One option may be to prosecute massive drug crimes in federal courts, Gilbertson said, where penalties tend to be more severe.
“It might be that we would have federal prosecutors involved too, but I don’t know that yet,” Gilbertson said. “It’s a possibility.”
Final determinations on the immediate future of JOMET have yet to be made, he said, though some preparations for anti-drug efforts already are under way. “Right now, we’re putting a plan together and a budget together, and looking at recruiting,” he said. “But a decision will have to be made here real soon whether or not to proceed.”
-Scott Jorgensen
IVN Staff Writer
